For OFFF I'm preparing a total of 14 intro animations which will be played in between artists. With these I'm trying to visualize the artists names by using wave patterns and or line patterns. The wave patterns come in handy since they are used to either animate things and or generate geometry. For some instances it is nice since a wavy movement of some block like shape can suddenly, with increased speed of the movement display standing waves. Further I'm playing heavily on optical effects like Moire patterns etc.
The intention is to have for each artist a different intro that plays with the interpretation of patterns in any form.
Byetones visuals are prepared in 2 ways. On one hand I'm building a infrastructure with TouchDesigner that tries to mimic a video or audio editing interface. For each MIDI event that is created in the audio software (Ableton Live), my program starts a prepared event. Each event is organized into layers with each layer representing a certain animation or compositing network. Also for each layer you are setting the in and out points which basically lets you choreograph the full set in advance. Every event though, as already mentioned is being triggered by the audio software.
The animations I'm preparing are oriented much on Olaf's visual style as that he sees the screen as a light emitting entity that enhances your experience of the sound. The animations are fast and always tightly integrated to sound. There is no storyline to them rather each effect represents a certain played sound - from my experience the sound is much more clear, and by visually hinting subtle sounds, these are amplified in your perception.
SND and Alva Noto are as at Transmediale in January - some slight aesthetic improvements but I don't plan on any changes since the last set was well received .... :)
Additionally I'm working on sets for other artists trying to get at least 5 sets to accompany their music done. I'm focusing again on the visualization of sound, connecting samples with certain movements, colors or shapes. I can't even tell you who I'm preparing for but intend to do the visuals for Nibo, Senking, Kangding Ray, Pomassl and maybe if possible Vladislav Delay.
What is common to all of them is basically the underlying techniques. Use my EQ (sound analysis) component to filter out certain frequencies and drive animations via the filtered waveforms of their audio power. I'm also incorporating manual controls to adjust and play the synths. Visually I'm trying to stay very close to the effectiveness of minimal graphics, basically focusing on the task to stay as close to the sound as possible.
Markus Heckmann, April 09